Chemistry

Creating an element is no easy feat. It's the equivalent of firing six trillion bullets a second at a needle in a haystack, hoping the bullet and needle somehow fuse together, then catching it in less than a thousandth of a second o after which it's gone forever. Welcome to the world of the superheavy elements- a realm where scientists use giant machines and spend years trying to make a single atom of mysterious artefacts that have never existed on Earth. From the first elements past uranium and their role in the atomic bomb to the latest discoveries stretching our chemical world, Superheavy will reveal the hidden stories lurking at the edges of the periodic table. Why did the US Air Force fly planes into mushroom clouds? Who won the transfermium wars? How did an earthquake help give Japan its first element? And what happened when Superman almost spilled nuclear secrets? In a globe-trotting adventure that stretches from the United States to Russia, Sweden to Australia, Superheavy is your guide to the amazing science filling in the missing pieces of the periodic table. By the end you'll not only marvel at how nuclear science has changed our lives o you'll wonder where it's going to take us in the future.

This fascinating new volume provides a comprehensive yet concise overview of the chemical aspects of some of the major innovations and changes that occurred during the 20th century, relating chemical structures and properties to real-life applications. Developed for a course taught by the author for several years at UVA, the author covers the important and consequential developments in chemistry and explains their everyday, real-life applications. These include such topics as consumer products, fossil fuel use, polymers, agriculture, food production, nutrition, explosives, and drugs. The section Molecular Biology and Its Applications includes examples of the application of biotechnology and genetic engineering.  

This book opens the audience's eyes to the extraordinary scientific secrets hiding in everyday objects.  Helping readers increase chemistry knowledge in a fun and entertaining way, the book is perfect as a supplementary textbook or gift to curious professionals and novices. *    Appeals to a modern audience of science lovers by discussing multiple examples of chemistry in everyday life *    Addresses compounds that affect everyone in one way or another: poisons, pharmaceuticals, foods, and illicit drugs; thereby evoking a powerful emotional response which increases interest in the topic at hand *    Focuses on edgy types of stories that chemists generally tend to avoid so as not to paint chemistry in a bad light; however, these are the stories that people find interesting *    Provides detailed and sophisticated stories that increase the reader's fundamental scientific knowledge *    Discusses complex topics in an engaging and accessible manner, providing the "how" and "why" that takes readers deeper into the stories

Black powder, the world's first chemical explosive, was originally developed in the seventh century, during China's Tang dynasty. It was a crude mixture at first, but over time chemists discovered the optimum proportion of sulfur, charcoal, and nitrates, as well as the best way to mix them so that the particles of each component were tiny and homogenous, resulting in a complete and powerful reaction. Author and chemistry buff Simon Quellen Field takes readers on a decades-long journey through the history of things that go boom , from the early days of black powder to today's modern plastic explosives. Not just the who, when, and why, but also the how. How did Chinese alchemists come to create black powder? What accidents led to the discovery of high explosives? How do explosives actually work on a molecular scale? And though most people have a vague understanding that dynamite is more powerful than gunpowder, what does it mean to be more powerful? Boom! The Chemistry and History of Explosives goes back to the original papers and patents written by the chemists who invented them, to shed light on their development, to explore the consequences of their use for good and ill, and to give the reader a basic understanding of the chemistry that makes them possible.

From atoms and fluorescent pigments to sulfa drug synthesis and buckyballs, this lush and authoritative chronology presents 250 milestones in the world of chemistry. As the "central science" that bridges biology and physics, chemistry plays an important role in countless medical and technological advances. Covering entertaining stories and unexpected applications, chemist and journalist Derek B. Lowe traces the most important--and surprising--chemical discoveries.